"At this point, I have no idea. But I'm not ruling Alicia out anymore. She's the one who knows about the journal and stands to gain the most. Okay, careful now," Hunter warned as they approached the door to their suite.
A broad-shouldered, blond haired man stepped forward and held out his hand to Hunter. "Good to see you again, sir. Hate I didn't get here in time to prevent this. You want me to stay with the lady and let you do a walk through?"
"Not necessary. I need her help to see what's missing. I do want you to stay on the door. Don't let us be surprised," Hunter ordered and then turned to inspect the door facing for forced entry. Light scarring of the wood showed inside the frame. "Hmm...jimmied open, but by someone who knew how to do it around the electronic lock."
"Professionals?" Dani quietly asked.
"Practiced burglars, more likely. Or maybe not," he finished when he saw the mess they'd made.
Dani stepped over and around strewn cushions and wads of sofa stuffing. The room safe, previously concealed by a painting of the Seattle sunset, hung open. Chairs were overturned and the desk drawers had been flung aside.
From the doorway of her bedroom, Dani decided it looked as if a giant child picked up the room and shook it violently. Clothes, including her undies, hung where they landed when tossed, drawers lay upside down scattered across the floor, and the mattress sported several long cuts revealing the innersprings. The blinds and window coverings hung at odd angles and Dani's travel bag lay in pieces.
Touching her trembling fingers to her mouth, Dani held back the tears. These are only things. Thank goodness, no one was hurt. She walked quickly to the chest of drawers. Kneeling in front of the hole where the bottom drawer should have been, Dani stuck her hand inside and to the far back corner. Her head sagged in relief when her fingers touched the bundle she'd wrapped in a black tee shirt and so carefully hid there.
Hunter watched as her head dropped and thought the worst. "They took it?"
"No...still here." Dani pulled the black wrapped papers and journal from the hiding place. "Derek taught me that. It actually works." As she got to her feet, she gave him a slight smile. "These are in good shape. Wish I could say the same for my clothes."
"Let's check Abby's room, and then we'll have Stanridge deal with hotel security." Hunter led the way to the other bedroom, shoving broken and displaced items out of his way with his foot.
"Okay, I guess Abby will need new stuff too. Oh boy," Dani groaned as she spotted the remains of Abby's laptop. "She is really gonna be upset about this. Why would they do this?"
Hunter surveyed the damage, taking in the wildly trashed room. "Looks like they got angry when they didn't find the journal. They took it out on this room." He turned to look at her with an arched brow. "You said you read retained energy. Does it have to be old, or could you see the recent past, maybe?"
Dani felt panic crawling into her brain. Recent energy was too strong. Over time, she'd built a personal wall, a shield of sorts she instinctively kept in place all the time. If she dropped it, she would be bombarded with images and scenes from every surface she touched.
They needed to know who broke into this room and why they were after the journal, but she felt terrified of being overwhelmed or lost in the intense energy.
Hunter reconsidered as he watched her face go pale and recognized fear flooding her green eyes. "Never mind, Dani. I just thought..."
"No, you're right." She breathed deeply and pushed the panic away. Here she was, a grown woman, still afraid of her own abilities. "I could do it. I-I just don't know how safe it would be. I haven't let my guard down like that in a very long time. I'm older now, more in control of my gift – maybe—" Dani began to consider the possibility. She might be strong enough now to control the energy and sort through the images to find the ones she needed.
"We should wait for Derek before you try something like that, if it's at all dangerous. I shouldn't have brought it up." Hunter recognized fear when he saw it and Dani's initial reaction went beyond that to panic. He reached for her arm and drew her close.
"Dani, promise me, you won't try it. Not right now. I wouldn't know how to help you if something went wrong." Hunter swallowed the huge lump forming in his throat. "I don't know what I would do if you got hurt. I would never forgive myself if..." He gently removed the bundle from her hands and tossed it aside. Then he wrapped his fingers around Dani's upper arms, gazed deeply into her wary, green eyes, and pulled her nearer.
Dani's hands came up between them. She placed them flat against his chest. "Hunter, I don't think—"
"Don't think right now, honey," he interrupted. "Just feel."
Dani gasped as Hunter's mouth swooped down to claim hers. She felt tingles all the way to her toes when he teased her lips with the tip of his tongue. Butterflies the size of softballs fluttered in her stomach as he deepened the kiss. She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, responding to the desires he awoke in her.
Feeling Dani's enthusiastic response caused a surge of passion, and the need to possess flowed through Hunter. Sliding his arms around her back, he urged her closer. Her soft curves pressing against his strong body pushed the flames higher. This woman called to a part of him he carefully kept buried deep inside. A part which searched for something he hadn't missed until now.
Uh-uh, no way. Not Derek's sister. Fate wouldn't be so cruel.
Just thinking of Dani as Derek's sister caused Hunter's mind to clear a bit and he gentled the kiss before moving her slightly away from him. One look at her parted lips and her half-closed, slumberous eyes almost made him dive back in for another taste. With a stifled groan, he completely pulled away from her.
"I need to talk to Stanridge then we'll go. Is there anything left in here you need?" Hunter forced his mind back to business.
"I... I don't know. I'll go look." Dani sought to gather her wits. Getting her mind off his kiss would take a lot of effort.
She wandered toward the jumbled bedroom where her things lay scattered, stopped at the doorway, and turned away. She couldn't imagine wearing anything from there after those strange hands touched her stuff.
Then Dani's eyes touched on Abby's damaged laptop on the floor.
Making a sudden decision, Dani walked the few steps to the desk, bent down, and held out her hand. Instantaneous energy crackled through her fingertips, jolting her entire arm as she made contact. She jerked back.
Whew, that was different. Dani took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I can do this. I know I can. This has to be settled before someone is killed.
Dani righted the overturned desk chair and drew it close to the desk. Sitting down, she picked up the computer and placed it on the desk. Then she braced herself, cleared her mind, and stretched out her hand to touch the edge of the laptop. More prepared for the immediate sensation of electricity coursing through her, Dani closed her eyes and experienced a kaleidoscope of images flashing through her brain.
Focusing her thoughts on the laptop slowed the images and allowed Dani to see the room where she sat before it was trashed.
Two men in white shirts and black slacks, similar to hotel-staff uniforms, slipped in through the doorway. They looked around as if nervous. "The maid was right. They're gone," one whispered.
They began jerking drawers open and searching the furniture. The men quickly tossed items aside and moved on to tear apart something else.
"The money should be here," the taller man growled. "Why haven't we found it?"
"I don't care what Alicia said. If you had thousands of dollars worth of gold and silver or a map of where to find it, would you just leave it setting around where anybody could find it? Sheesh, forgot who I'm talking to."
The taller man launched his lanky frame at the shorter, stockier built fellow. He grabbed him by his shirtfront and jerked him close. "What you mean by that, Jeffrey? You think I'm stupid or something?"
"Well, I ain't the one who promised to pay off my bookie with money I ain't got." The stock
y guy shoved away the taller one and stepped back. "You know Arnie will send his knee-breakers after you, and I don't aim to be anywhere close if we don't find this loot. Why you believe anything that little tramp says is beyond me. Just like you buy the bit about her kid being yours. Ain't no telling who that brat belongs to." He kicked over a shelf unit.
The tall man laughed roughly, and then angrily threw Abby's clothing left and right. "Guess you're gonna tell me he could be yours."
"No way, Brian. I knew she was trouble the minute I set eyes on her. Where else we gonna look before we give up? I'm telling you, people put stuff like that in the hotel safe or keep it with them." Jeffrey knocked the sunset painting from the wall and saw the safe. "Aha! Maybe it's here after all." He used a water glass to listen for the tumblers and twisted the dial.
Brian watched then cursed violently when it proved to be empty. He walked to the desk and pulled the drawers open, jerking the last drawer completely out with an angry motion. Then he used it to beat on the laptop computer on the desktop.
"Dani – Dani! Answer me!" Hunter forced her hands away from the damaged laptop and shouted at her. When she didn't answer or open her eyes, he dropped to one knee in front of her and put a hand on each side of her face. "Dani, open your eyes. Honey, look at me." Her shallow breathing, lack of color, and failure to respond had him pulling out his phone and hitting speed dial.
Derek's voice mail informed Hunter that Derek was unavailable at the moment. Guess I'm on my own. Warm... Get her warm. "Come on, honey. I'm going to get you wrapped up." Hunter picked up a crumpled bedspread from the floor and draped it carefully around her. While rubbing her hands and arms, he continued to talk to her and call her name.
When she still didn't respond, Hunter scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He found a clean spot against one wall and sat down with her held tightly on his lap. Hunter talked softly into her ear and hugged her close.
Several minutes later, he was rewarded with the sight of her blinking her eyes as if she woke from a deep sleep. "Dani, honey, are you all right? Can you talk to me?"
As he watched her color return and her breathing become normal, Hunter's fear receded to be replaced by anger. "What the blazes did you think you were doing? I thought we agreed to wait for Derek. Something terrible could have happened." Hunter caught her chin and forced her to look up at him. "You scared the crap out of me, Dani. Don't you ever do anything like that again." He didn't know if he wanted to kiss or shake her.
Snuggled in Hunter's strong arms, Dani fully returned to the present and recalled what she saw take place. She trembled as she also remembered the awful struggle, as if fighting through thick cotton wool, to get back to now, to her correct time and place. "I... I don't think I want to do that again," she whispered. "I'll stick to the old stuff, thank you."
"Good. Are you still cold? Do you need more—"
Dani interrupted him, "No, I'm warm. Just hold me a bit longer, please." She enjoyed the feel of Hunter's arms wrapped around her and the firm thighs cradling her from beneath. "I saw who did it. I know who broke in here and trashed the place. They want to find the money."
"Tell me, Dani," Hunter growled, his patience severely frayed.
"One of them is named Brian. He's Alicia's boyfriend, the father of her baby. There were two of them, Brian and a short stocky guy named Jeff, I think." Dani continued until she filled Hunter in on everything.
"Let's go." Hunter eased her from his lap and stood. He held out his hand and helped her up. "Okay?"
"Yes, thanks." At his concerned frown, Dani placed her hand on his arm and reassured him. "I really am okay, Hunter, just a bit weak. Where are we going?"
"We're going to pay Alicia a visit and find out about this boyfriend of hers. Do you have an address for her? Or even a last name?"
"No, but Abby does. I'll call and see if I can get it." Dani moved away and began searching for the telephone.
Hunter took his cell out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, use this."
Dani let the phone ring until Abby answered. A few seconds later, Dani closed the phone and handed it back to Hunter. "I've got the address and a phone number. Should we call first?"
"Don't think so. I'd rather show up unannounced. I'll have the car brought to the front and let Stanridge know what's going on." Hunter punched numbers in on his phone and started to the door. He turned back and cautioned, "Just don't touch anything else, okay?"
"Then you better get the journal and my papers because I'm not leaving them behind again."
Chapter Nine
A man called Sparks picked them up in a gray van. He drove to the run-down tenement house matching the address Abby gave Dani. Once parked on the street, he glanced at Hunter to see if he should accompany them to the door or keep the motor running.
"Wait here, Sparks, and keep an eye out for trouble. Okay, Dani, let's go ask some questions. But you stay right with me and if I tell you to get out, you beat it back here to the van. You got it?"
"Should I salute or will a simple yes sir, do?" Dani asked.
Hunter chuckled, thankful she sounded like her old self, as he shoved the journal and loose papers beneath the van seat. The little minx really scared him back at the hotel when he couldn't get a response.
At the door, Hunter nudged Dani partially behind him when he knocked. A fairly attractive blond girl with a buxom figure opened the door a crack.
"What do you want?" she asked in an unfriendly tone.
"We need to speak to Alicia, please," Hunter gave her his most ingratiating smile.
"What for?" the girl demanded.
"It's personal. But it will definitely be to her benefit to talk to us. Is she here?"
The door inched open another few inches. "Benefit how? Like some money or what?" The sounds of a baby crying began from inside the house. The girl didn't move.
Dani decided Hunter wasn't getting anywhere. "You're Alicia, aren't you? I'm Dani Adaire and this is Hunter. We've been helping Abby Somers track down something that belongs to you. May we come in while you see to the baby?" Dani pushed forward as if she never doubted having immediate admittance.
Alicia backed up and opened the door to let her in. "What do you mean, things that belong to me?"
Hunter followed in Dani's wake, a bit bewildered at the sudden turn of events.
"Abby has been fulfilling a request from your grandfather. I've been helping her." Dani took in the poorly lit living room with a few pieces of broken down furniture and chose to perch on the edge of a well-used loveseat serving as the sofa.
'I'll get Billy and be right back," Alicia told her and disappeared through a doorway into another room.
"What are you doing? What if those men were here?" Hunter whispered fiercely.
Dani shook her head and smiled at Alicia as she returned to the room carrying a chubby baby around six months old with blond hair and blue eyes. "Is he named William for his grandfather?"
Alicia nodded and her eyes filled with tears which she quickly blinked away. "Yes, I wanted... Well, no matter what I wanted now. Gramps is gone, and it's just me and Billy." She hugged the baby to her as he giggled and waved his fists around.
"Does Brian help with him at all?" Dani softly asked.
The question definitely drew Alicia's attention. "What do you know about Brian?"
"Alicia, we have the journal that was your great-grandmother Lottie's. In itself, it's worth some money. But if we can use it to find the treasure, we think they could be really valuable. Did you tell Brian the Legend of Lovely Lottie's Treasure?"
Standing quickly, Alicia told them, "You need to leave. If he comes by and finds you here... You really need to go." She acted as if she would physically push them toward the door.
"Alicia, you did tell him, didn't you? Did you know he and a friend broke into our rooms and tried to find the journal a couple of times? And they've been following us. He intends to use the money to pay off a bookie named Arnie. You and
the baby will never see a dime if Brian gets his hands on the journal or the treasure. We can help you." Dani stood too, but refused to move.
The blond girl turned away and sat the baby in a carrycot. She carefully fastened the straps and started it rocking before turning back to Dani. "He shouldn't have done that. No one was hurt were they? I never meant anything like that to happen."
"No, not this time. But..." Dani shrugged as if to say she didn't know what might happen next time. "When the police catch them, they'll go to jail. If you're part of it, you'll go too."
Alicia crossed her arms, stared at the floor, and sighed. "I let it slip. I'm not helping them. But he... He threatened to take my baby if I didn't get him some money. I couldn't let him have Billy, so I... I told him the old legend about the treasure gramps always told me and how that woman Abby probably found the money by now, since gramps left her the book. Brian acted all mad and said it was rightfully my money and he was going to get it back. I knew he wouldn't give it to me or Billy though. Please understand... I was afraid for Billy. Brian gets awful mean when he's crossed. I just... I just want him to leave us alone."
"Has he been back in the last few hours, Alicia? It's very important," Hunter spoke gently to the woman. He felt anger roil through him at the knowledge of this woman and child being victimized.
"No, I hope he doesn't come back. It would be worth giving up the money to be rid of him."
Dani laid her hand on Alicia's arm. "Alicia, you and Billy may be in danger. Brian and his friend didn't find the journal. But Brian was really angry and he trashed the hotel room. Has he hurt you before? Is there somewhere you and the baby can go to be safe until this is settled?"
Turning into Dani's arms, Alicia began to cry, deep, wrenching sounds of anguish. Dani held her and let her cry. She looked over Alicia's shoulder and arched her brows at Hunter.
Hunter shook his head and went over to rock the baby's carrier when Billy started to whimper. Billy grabbed at Hunter's shiny wristwatch and gurgled happily when the big man let him touch it. Hunter smiled down at the kid and hunkered near him to let him pull at the shiny distraction.
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